Gulnara Khamatova

Gulnara Khamatova is one of the most notable jazz photographers in Russia. She is twice a JJA Awards "Photo of the Year" nominee (2011, 2012). Gulnara was born in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan Republic in Russia, 1981. An art school alumnus, graduated from Kazan State University majoring in journalism. Started taking photos in 2000. Worked in a variety of magazines and newspapers in Kazan and Moscow as a photojournalist. Member of International Federation of Journalists. Has been working for Jazz.Ru Web Central & Magazine since 2003. Solo exhibitions: Kazan, part of Jazz at Sandetsky Palace Festival, 2011; Penza, part of Jazz May Festival, 2012. Gulnara Khamatova is a master of portraits. Her sensitive approach to people finds her a way to depict a person with the complete depth of his personality. Musicians, men, women, couples, kids, people of all sorts and origins - these are the heros of her pictures. Gulnara's striking and memorable style of black and white photography brings a dramatic life into static pictures and reveals the air between the highlights and shadows of the objects on them. Her color pictures are also vivid memory snapshots. If you encounter her photography, you are amazed by how natural you feel being part of the scene depicted. It may be a recording studio with great New York jazz musicians at work, either a backstage mirror reflection of the contemporary classics of jazz chatting, or a moment captured on stage during the show that will make you laugh. There are thousands of names who became Gulnara's models, and world famous musicians and sportsmen, young ladies, passionate lovers, charming kids and charismatic habitants of cities from different corners of the Globe, such as Santiago or Istanbul, are among them. Gulnara lives and works in New York City.